Facebook will soon let you send money to your friends using a mobile payment system that is integrated into the Messenger app.

A mobile payment system has been in the social networking giant's pipeline for a while, but screeshots and code for the service have been discovered buried within the app by a developer.

These hidden features show that you can add a credit or debit card to your Facebook account and then send your friends money via messages, just as easily as you might send a photo.

So you can imagine organising a group birthday present for a friend and then easily being able to split the cost between multiple individuals.

But perhaps a bigger market is having the ability to send money abroad - in the same way that you might use a remittance service like Western Union.

"With Facebook Messenger, you attach money just like you attach a photo or location. You don’t even have to link a bank account!” said Andrew Aude, the developer who discovered the features, in a tweet.

Facebook has been preparing this money transfer service in Europe for a while - in April it was revealed that the company was seeking regulatory approval in Ireland for 'e-money' status, which would allow the company to issue digital credits that could be converted into cash.

There already exist a number of tools that let you easily transfer money with just a mobile phone and an app or email address, including Paym and Barclays Pingit.